The Quest of the Dark
by Hyzenthay
Summary: Joe's whole life changes when one day all these myterious poeple show up demading for his dead brother Tom, but everytime he tells them they seem to think Joe's dumb. Soon he has met up with fait and now he has to team up with the most unlikely people to


"Joe are you ready," a voice yelled pounding on his bedroom door. Joe sighed and glanced into the mirror again. Seeing a skinny, sandy haired boy looking back at him. The pounding came again. "Joe don't forget you and Matthew are going before the rest." Again Joe sighed and gave no reply. He really wasn't fond of his name Joe, but that was his middle name. Dartmoor was his first, and no one but his family actually knew his first name. Dartmoor was a very unusual name, and his family agreed to call him Joe, but when they agreed Joe couldn't help feeling they also had another reason. "Joe Falcon are you listening to me!" the shrill voice boomed through his door.   
  
"Yes, mum. I am almost ready," to Mrs. Falcon that was all she needs. Soon Joe heard her shrill yelling for Matthew. Once again Joe looked into his mirror, stood up straight, and fixed his bow tie. The Falcon's were all getting ready for a wedding of some people they didn't know. Well, at least Joe and Matthew didn't know. Wearing all black looks some what strange on Joe. Black pants, a black coat, black tux shirt, and black bow tie. Matthew and Joe had been to many weddings, but never of there own family. Jason was twenty-eight and was now somewhere in Russia helping dragons. And no one knew where Fred was, when he turned twenty he left saying that he was joining the Navy, but he never did. Now he had to be at least twenty-eight years old.   
  
He opened his bedroom door to see Matthew, who was one year older than Joe, marching grumpily down the hall. When he reached Joe he said nothing, and grabbed him by the arm dragging him toward the front door.  
  
"We're leaving mum, Bye." Matthew said in a cool swiftly voice hiding his fury.  
  
"Bye, Dears. Don't pig out on food before the wedding. I heard they're having a dinner party after it. Be careful and I'll be there in a few." Her shrill voice seemed to fell the house with liveness. Joe turned with Matthew to leave without even saying a word.  
  
"This sucks. I mean granted we have a beautiful Capel, and tourist are obviously coming just to get married. But why on earth do they have to invite the whole damn town.  
  
"I agree, for peaks sake we don't even know the people. Less than half the Capel is full with the town, and the rest is full with people I have never even laid eyes on. But the weird part about this wedding is that there is never a dinner party after the wedding that the town is allowed to go too. I mean maybe these people are important, or something." Joe said lazily kicking a stone, and causing dust to swarm up.  
  
"Rich more like it. Anyway, we are young are we better watch it so they won't put us to work during the dinner party. That happen to Fred once before you where born, poor guy drove him nuts." Matthew face turned into a sort of weird smile. " I wonder where he is now?" The question seemed to dingle in the air for a minute or so until the sight of about a dozen Carriages, and the most beautiful horses appear. "Rich, just like I said." Matthew declared aloud.  
  
Entering the towering white doors of the Capel they saw that it look as it usual did whenever there was a wedding. Flowers of every kind poking out from every possible place there is. The widows wide open so that you could hear the birds chirping on this hot summer day. Then, there where the guests of all sort, some in brightly colored clothing, some with tribunes, and there where some just like Joe and Matthew. From the look of it so far they where the only boys there of the age twelve and thirteen, but you had to keep in mind they where the youngest boys in town. Actually, they were the only boys in town under the age of seventeen, which really wasn't fun for either they have much older boys as friends or their brother. Matthew smiled...  
  
"Darn I was hoping this time there would be kids are age here." Joe was just about to speak when a deep voice came from behind them.  
  
"Yes, you two are the youngest here. Her mistress was shock at the age of the youngest ones at her wedding. We offered to out you to work so you wouldn't be so bored." Both the boys heart fell at once but neither of them turned around. "But she wouldn't hear of it. So it looks like you boys lucked out." The last part of what he said sounded awfully familiar. Matthew sighed a little with relief, but Joe turned suddenly around. A tall man with a brush of a goatee, and with neatly laid sandy brown hair. He smiled at Joe and Joe smiled back to his older brother Fred.  
  
"Fred!" he exclaimed, and Matthew at this too spun around.  
  
"Oh how it is great to see you two. And look at how different you look from the last time I saw you. Joe what where you two, three, and Matthew you three, four." He smiled even more broadly, and swooped down to hug them. Soon he let go, and Joe was a sudden look of worry in his eyes. "Tom, how is Tom?" Joe glanced sadly at Matthew and they both exchange a look you sadness. Tom was their youngest brother, who was born a year before Fred was born. Right before he left Tom became incredible sick with a sickness they couldn't identify. Only a few months after Fred was gone he died, and that when they found out he wasn't in the navy.   
  
By the looks on their faces Fred seemed to realize what had happen, and he too fell with a look of sadness. It was the same sadness that had taken Matthew and Joe over, it seemed to be mixed in with confusion, angriness, and annoyance. Only Joe seemed to notice his look because Matthew came interested in watching the crowd of entering guests. Fred seemed to feel his look, and sudden looked up starring wildly around as though looking for someone. He seemed to spot the person clasped his hand briefly on their shoulders whispered. "Don't tell anyone else that you saw me, you will not see me again for a while so don't look." He seemed to catch the looks on their faces, "magic can do the world of difference. Just wondering which one of you where not present at the death of Tom.  
  
"Joe wasn't. For the first time too, Tom always seemed to like Joe the best, and when Joe didn't come home for a while he seemed to die." Joe starred wildly, he never knew that.  
  
"But I was only three. How on earth does that work?" Joe seemed puzzled, and so did Matthew too. Fred gave Joe a swift piercing look but seemed to forget whatever he was thinking. Squeezed their shoulders briefly, and walked off.  
  
"Well, that was odd!" Matthew remarked as they turned to watched Fred walk away, but he was no longer there.  
  
"I think Fred never even made it to the Navy sign up place. I think he found or something better to do." Joe said turning to Matthew, and when their eyes meet they both seemed to agree that was probably it. "Oh well, I say we get some food. I starved, and tried of just standing around."  
  
It was slow going to get through the crowd toward the food. Once or twice when Joe bumped into someone, and knocked their food out of their hands. Instead of yelling at him, and saying he should watch where he was going they just stood looking at him as if he wasn't real. By time they actually got to get food a man dressed in the most beautiful clothing appeared.  
  
"The wedding is about to start. Will everyone please report to the wedding hall at once." He announced in a voice that matched his clothing. Matthew dropped his food, and Joe moaned with dislike. As the crowd headed for the grand doors into the hall, there was a great mutter of excitement. Joe had already got separated from Matthew, and was fighting desperately to get over to him. He never succeeded because as soon as he saw Matthew he felt a hand clasp his shoulder. Looking up he saw the man in the nicely dressed clothing, and close he looked about forty. He gave one sharp glance in Joe's direction, and his tight grew stronger, and he held firmly until everyone had left the dinning hall.   
  
"Joe, is it? He asked in ferociously, and the look on Joe's face seemed to tell him. "From this day on you are in grave danger. You most very aware Joe Falcon. Beware...... beware...beware..." his voice seemed to grow distant, and suddenly Joe found himself in the dinning hall all alone. He scrambled quickly to get into the Wedding hall before it started, and he made it just in time to slip in the back row by someone he didn't even know.  
  
Joe gave the man next to him a side long glance, and was to take in that he was plump, bald, and was wearing a tuxedo to short for him. Joe gave a silent sigh that no one could hear even if they tried. Taking his eyes off the groom, who was also wearing incredible clothing, he slightly turned his head upward to look the ceiling. The ceiling had the most beautiful painting of a man flying over, what Joe assumed was the Alps, on a flying carpet. The painting was made up of many colors, but the most beautiful part of it, to Joe, was his carpet. It looked like an black eye watching everyone in the room, with sorted of colors swooping, crisscrossing, and circling the eye dazzled anyone's eye.   
  
Suddenly his attention was brought back down to earth as three booming pounds came from the two huge doors. Everyone gasped and turned stunned to look at the doors, and at once a little man ran to answer the doors. But before he reach them they burst wide open, and a horse rearing up in the air came crashing to the ground. In the split second that everyone starred dumbfounded at the rider on the midnight colored horse. Joe thought he saw the eyes glint from behind the riders hooded black cloak.  
  
There was a great uproar from the crowd now in panic from this mysterious rider. Joe stayed seated, saw Matthew, Mr. ans Mrs. Falcon race past in the prospect of gaining control. Joe stood up when he saw them, but a hand grabbed him from nowhere dragging him backwards away from the chaos. Turning he saw Fred standing over him again, but without a trace of happiness this time. His eyes were fixed on the rider who seemed unable to control himself in the chaos, and suddenly as though he couldn't help it he withdrew a medium sized sword with a few drops of red on the blade. Joe had a feeling that it might be blood, and now the rider was raising the sword in the air. He seemed to be aiming for someone darting sound him obviously looking for someone, and Joe had a pang of horror when he saw who it was. Matthew was running around looking high and low for Joe, and didn't realize that the horseman was about to hit him with the sword. Fred was unseeing to any of this, and so was  
everyone else blinded with fear. Thinking as quickly as he could he suddenly wrenched out of Fred's grasp, ans sprinted for Matthew, who just realized he was in mortal danger. Joe ran toward him as he saw Matthew lose his balance, and crashing into the floor right when the horseman starting bring his sword down.  
  
Joe dived forward just in time to push Matthew out of the way, but in doing so he caused himself to crash into the ground causing a great pain in his shoulder. Vaguely Joe saw that his parents seemed shocked, sorrow, and horror in their faces, when they realized what Joe had just done. Someone grabbed the frightened form of Matthew, and fought his way through the crowd out to safety. Joe now turned his full attention back onto the rider who was standing before him with a look that Joe couldn't make out from the under the hood. The pain in Joe's shoulder seemed to become greater by the minute, and taking his attention from the rider again he saw at there was a great cut in his shoulder. A few feet away there laid the sword now covered slightly in blood, and the slight seemed to make him sick. He rider seemed too grow over the shock of what happen, and he became very angry by the second. Out of nowhere the sword shot up into his hand, and in a instant Joe knew that the rider  
knew magic and this was the end. Because his head was starting to spin and he suddenly found that he couldn't move if he wanted to. Vaguely he saw the blood stain sword swing down, but also in at the same moment someone seized his hurt shoulder and moved dragged him backwards just in time to avoid the sword.   
  
The rider reared up into the air causing his hood to fall backward reveling dark short, curly hair, and glinting black eyes. The riders eyes were fixed on Joe, but the horse seemed to take control. Clinging on to the horse for balance Joe saw the black eyes glance at him once before he disappeared into thin air. Looking up Joe saw that it was Fred holding him tightly on his hurt shoulder, but this time he watching Joe with a look he couldn't read.  
  
"Joe-Joe!" Mr. Falcon yelled over the many bobbing heads of people making their way back into the Wedding Hall. Mr. Falcon and Mrs. Falcon were now right by Joe's side not even giving a Fred a sideways glance. Joe realized that they thought Fred was just a stranger helping him. "Joe are you insane! Jumping in front of that rider like that."  
  
"Honey, he didn't jump in front of the horse for no reason! He was saving Matthew who was trapped in front of the horse." Mrs. Falcon muttered softly. Mr. Falcon seemed to be thinking, but he didn't say anything. Fred's grip on Joe's hurt shoulder was becoming very painful.  
  
"Fred, stop it. Your grip hurts." Joe whined, and he heard a someone gasping sorry. Mr. Falcon's head shot up when Joe said Fred, and by the look on his face he was in disbelief. "Oh sorry." Joe gasped softly looking up at Fred, but Fred was now smiling greatly. Not in the since of Joe reveling who he was, but in some sort of great relief that was uneasy looking.  
  
"Dad, we need to talk!" Fred exclaimed placing his hand back on Joe's shoulder tightly. But instead of feeling great pain he felt nothing. Looking over he saw that Fred had obviously used magic to heel his cut. Mr. Falcon have Fred a sharp look then glanced down at Joe, but only for a couple of seconds. They stood up and walk through the now empty hall because everyone was now in the Wedding Hall. Mrs. Falcon moved closer to Joe, and hugged him tightly.  
  
"Thank-you. I saw what was happening, but I wouldn't be able to reach him in time. Thanks." She let go of Joe, but Joe didn't smile he had a feeling that they had forgotten something. Then, a floating image of someone picking up Matthew and carrying him to safety, or was he carrying him to safety. Suddenly, jumping up Joe started for the door, only pausing to say,  
  
"I have to go find Matthew." He explained as Fred and Mr. Falcon looked at him. Turning before anyone could stop him, he jumped down the Chapels many stairs. 


End file.
